STATE HOUSE – Rep. Robert E. Craven’s (D-Dist. 32, North Kingstown) legislation (2018-H 7075Aaa) banning “bump stocks” on semi-automatic firearms was passed by the House of Representatives tonight. “Bump stocks” are attachments to semi-automatic weapons that allow the shooter to fire at a much more increased rate of fire, effectively modifying a semi-automatic gun into an automatic weapon.

“With the tragic and horrific events in Las Vegas demonstrating the powerful lethality that bump stocks can facilitate, we must make the law clear that Rhode Island will not tolerate these dangerous tools of death,” said Representative Craven. “Currently there is some ambiguity to whether or not applying a bump stock to one’s weapon is legal in Rhode Island, but it is still legal to purchase one. This bill will end that practice, making the sale and possession of bump stocks, even if they are not affixed to a weapon, illegal and punishable by the full extent of the law,” added Representative Craven.

Presently, it is illegal in Rhode Island to modify any legal weapon into a fully-automatic firearm, which is what bump stocks accomplish, and in theory, making any weapon using a bump stock an illegal gun.